In March 2026, the Commission on the Status of Women started its historic 70th Session, beginning 9 March 2026 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and continuing until 19 March 2026. It has been in the opening details of the plenary sessions which have established a formal purposeful mood with bringing together world leaders, senior UN officials, and member state delegations with a common interest in the role of gender equality.
The proceedings commenced with proper announcement of the Chair and installation of the Chair who will also lead the work of the commission during the two weeks’ proceedings. Immediately after the UN Secretary-General, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women gave their high-level addresses, there were compelling speeches on the significance of the rights of women in the contemporary global environment.
One of the most significant events of the opening was the celebration of the anniversary of the commission. The commission first met in February 1947 and is nearing its 80th anniversary. This achievement brought a very thought-provoking and jubilatory twist to the entire process as it was celebrated to mark 80 years of contribution in the development of women rights around the world. This was then followed by the session formally adopting its agenda and its organizational issues and this led to serious discussions.
The theme priority of CSW70, which is to secure and enhance access to justice by all women and girls, covers one of the most intractable and structural problems that women face across the globe. It demands nondiscriminatory and equitable juridical systems, the abolishment of discriminatory legislative acts and practices and the eradication of significant structural obstacles that still deny women fair equal status in the eyes of the law. The review theme revises the full and effective involvement of women in the life of the society and the eradication of violence with references to the agreed conclusions of the 65th session and evaluated the progress since that period.
What is particularly important in CSW70 is the fact that it coincides with one of the landmark anniversaries and a point in real global urgency. Eight decades after the UN’s inception, the commission continues to struggle with problems that are as ancient as the organization itself – and yet the world around it is more complicated than ever.
The priority theme of access to justice addresses an agonizing fact. The legal system is not a heaven of women and girls: it is a fear-inducing, prejudiced, and isolated space to countless women and girls all over the world. Beauty on paper does not translate into real life as the systems that are created to be followed are still deeply unequal. True justice implies that all women irrespective of the place they reside, their income or their background can enjoy it.
The theme of the review is an eye opener that participation and safety cannot be separated. Women who enter the world of action, be it in politics or activism and community leadership, still experience the disproportionate rates of violence and harassment aimed at silencing them. Without advancement on the one hand, there can be no advancement on the other.
With the UN celebrating 80 years of its existence, the biggest question is not how much has been talked about but how much has changed on the ground that women and girls are concerned. The true gauge of success in this session will not be the accords that will be made in New York, but what will be done by the member states back home. Words must be policy, policy must be lived reality-of any woman and girl, anywhere.
Autor: Tejaswi Siwakoti, Youth Intern, Nepai
